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Freistadt
and Hügelland.]]Freistadt is a metropolis in the Order of the Teutonic Knights. It is also one of the three City-Provinces. With five and a half million inhabitants in all sorrounding villages Freistadt is the smallest City-Province in the Order. These are the villages of Ferdok, Zollfeste, Rotapfel and Fischersruh, as well as the islands of Einsiedlerheim and Düne. Geography Freistadt is bordering the Mittelsee and lies directly at the mouth of the Weißfluss, on the southern side. The core of the city is directly at the mouth. Due to it's position, Freistadt is the major trading harbour at the Mittelsee. The area around the city is dominated by soft and rolling hills, as well as the Dunkelwald, all in all called the Altes Land, the highest hill is the Wachhügel, fourty metres high. Climate Due to it's position near the equator of Sedes, the climate is rather stable and warm. The average high over the whole year is 14°C, the average low is 7.1°C. Warmest month is the July with 25°C, the coldest January with 3°C. The summers are warm, the winters mild. All over the year, 669mm of rain fall from the sky. History Foundation Around 600 A.D., the tribe of the Sandoy arrived at the mouth of the Fluvius Albus (Weißfluss or White River) and began to built a small wooden fort and an even smaller town. Purpose of this settlement was to control the mouth, through which once in a while passed smaller ships, and to have a beachhead on the shore as a base for future "Asset Distributions", so to speak. Within the next years, the Sandoys began recognised, that there were far more ships coming up the river then they thought, but raiding them all was too much hassle with too few men - so they came up with the idea of charging any ship leaving or entering the mouth with a small amount of money. The little fort and village began to grow and prosper. Sooner or later, people thought of unloading their goods in the small and after that rapidly expanding harbour in order to sell them to the villages around the larger and growing village. 803 the Order declared this city and it's territories a 'Freie Stadt', free city or, how it is now known as, Freistadt. A Golden Age of peace and prosperity followed soon after. Freistadt in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, Freistadt became a richer and larger city and a target for the sorrounding tribes and principalities. Among those, the greatest threats were the Duke of Kreuzfeste and the savage tribes of the Bogenlande. In 1066, those two formed an alliance and laid ruin to the sorrounding villages and besieged Freistadt for two years. Due to the harbour, the city was never in grave danger to starve, but several times, the walls nearly fell. Rescue came in form of a Relief Force send by Buchtblick and it's sorrounding villages. The rivalry between the two cities never ceased, but since that day, it became a friendly rivalry. 1162 the Doge met the Großmeister of the Order, who affirmed Freistadt's status as a Free City. In return, the Order's merchants were allowed to trade with reduced taxes (the corresponding law was abolished on 1652). The City grew and porspered in these times, and became famous for it's position on religion: "No matter which God you pray to, this shall be your haven. No matter who your ancestors were, this shall be your home. No matter if tall or small, rich or poor, Order or Senate... you are welcome, if you are willing to work." (Constitution of the City of Freistadt, 1203) With it's wealth, the citie's power grew, too, and sooner then later, Freistadt was a major player Mittelsee and beyond. Merchants sailed to all corners of Sedes, including the Kristallreich, colonies were established on all shores, Gratsstadt is one of these. Trading Posts were in all larger coastal towns and many farther inland. In 1261, the great trading empire of the Nebler, a wealthy Merchant Family, began it's formation and growth. Until it's temporary demise in 1503 the Nebler would use every opportunity to make money and become richer. That would be the reason for their demise, as they began to be too powerful, the other families, the city and the Order coordinated a swift and deadly strike. The Fourteenth Century was shaped by attacks of the Helgen, firstly on Gratsstadt, then on the other colonies as well, and finally on the city. In the Battle of Kap Hähnenkopf 1358, the Merchant Coalition, led by Freistadt, and the Order scored a deceisive win against the alliance of the the Senate's last remnants and the Helgen. Freistadt was leading an invasion of the Helgenland three years later, but in 1369, the force was wiped out. In 1399, the Helgen once again tried to destroy the city, but were defeated. Their raid in 1403 however was successful, the city was burned to the ground. The Nebler merchant family bought the ruins, rebuilt the city and practically ruled it from 1406 to their aforementioned demise in 1503. It was an era shaped by strife, conquest and greed, which shriveled down the lush forests to a level in order to heat the forges and to built ships. The Battle on the Lerchenfeld was fought in 1458. In a large battle, between the Order and the cities of Freistadt and Buchtblick on one side and the Duke of Kreuzfeste and his allies (among them the Helgen) on the other side, the letter was killed and his allies annihilated. For this region, this marks the end of the Middle Ages. Terrible deseases ravaged the city in 1426, 1453 and 1500, mainly due to the terrible standarts in sanitation, and reduced it's population to only a few thousand instead of the tens of thousands of people. It seemed like Freistadt's Golden Age came to a close. Scara In 803, the Doge of the city began to look for an elite corps in his forces, soldiers capable of taking on any foe with the classical weapons of a free cititzien, the spear and the crossbow. They were supposed to be a lighter counterpart to the heavily armoured knights. In the end, the Scara, group, fought alongside the Order's and other's knights on many occassions, and proved to be a counterpart in more then one way: All of them were females, clad in light leather armour, fighting with spears and crossbow as opposed to the heavy, iron-armoured male knights with their swords and lances. With the establishment of the organized Ritterheer in 1701, the Scara was integrated into the new army. From there, the line of tradition can be drawn up the 3. Regiment der Ritterinnen 'Scara', positioned at today's Scara-Barracks near Freistadt. "The Beacon of Peace" After the purge of the Nebler-family in 1503, several merchants and merchant families stepped up to the plate again and began to compete for the for the dominant position in Freistadt and it's important harbour. Among those were the Dunkelwälder, Silberbrecher and Störenbrandt, who were soon the most important families in the city and by extension among the most influential in the Order. 1524, the Arkanengilde is founded by a person only known to the historians as Sonnenhauch. As soon as the guild is established, it begins to collect material on the weaknesses of many influential persons. The wide spread of the guild is also a result of it's policy on crime. With the establishment of regular contacts between the Order and the Empire of Cocolint in 1531, the paganistic and shamanistic knowledge was imported and used. Freistadt became, despite it's location at the eastern side of the Mittelsee, Freistadt soon became major centre of exchange, as did Gratsstadt. From 1618 to 1648, the Thirty Years War ravaged the country, as the Hochmeister Maximilian von der Weidenbank tried to establish an Empire. Many were forced to take sides, but Freistadt and it's colonies, allies and friends managed to stay mostly neutral. It was in here, where the Freistädter Friede of 1648 was signed. These times enforced Freistadt's reputation as a "Beacon of Peace". When Maximilian had a brief comeback in 1650, Freistadt still remained neutral. 1699 Freistadt joined the Order. Modern Times Newest Times Sorrounding Villages Ferdok Zollfeste Rotapfel Fischersruh Einsiedlersheim Düne Dunkelwald Infrastructure Public Transport Streets Bycicle Air- and Spacetraffic Watersupply and Waterways Energysupply Economy Harbour and Shipyards Agriculture Tourism Education and Health Universities Academies Schools and Boarding Schools Libraries Culture Parks Sports Arts Music Cuisine One of the things the people of Freistadt are most proud of is the cuisine: In the inns the best beer, the Altbier, is served - strong, knocking you off your feet and rich in it's flavour. If one likes it sweeter, the Apfelwein is for him or her, made of apples, with a rich sweet flavour and drinkable for the weakest of the weak. If one doesn't want alcohol, several herbs are a good source for tea, for example rose hips. If one wants a meal, he or she will get bread made of whole grains, dark and strong. For longer travels, there is a variation called Pumpernickel, made of said grains, salt and water. A rich and strong porridge is made of these grains, too. Meat is rarely used, fish is more likely and the food for all people. From the richest to the poorest, they all eat fish (quality varies, of course), mostly with apples as a sidedish. Stockfisch, a fish salted and dried, is edible for a long time and therefore the ideal meal for the crews of the ships. Main vegetable is the apple, but also beetroot, carrots, cabbages and onions are grown and consumed in all variations. Vinegar and honey are used to spice things up the traditional way. Most remarkable is, that the cuisine of the rich trader city hasn't bothered to change much since over a millenium. It is one more evidence for proclaiming Freistadt a true free city, free from the influence of the modern globalized world. The most famous inn is the Grüne Drache, where the Altbier is especially strong and rich. It is also a tourist attraction. Category:City Category:Order of the Teutonic Knights Category:Under Construction Category:Province (Order)